Calabash??

[nachoqtpie]

So, my dear sweet neighbor is giving me some plants for my small little garden for taking care of her when she was sick last week.

She gave me some tomato plants, and one that she calls calabash?? I've never even HEARD of this! What's the info on this plant? It's a smaller size... and it has a couple of flowers on it already. Will it stay small or is it going to get big and start taking things over?

 

[calendula]

I believe those are birdhouse gourds? We grew some last year, and they vine just like pumpkins or squash. Are the flowers pretty white ones?

 

[nachoqtpie]

no... they looked kind of orange-ish to me.

 

[calendula]

Hmm...maybe it's a type of tomato then?

 

[nachoqtpie]

I have no idea! I'm trying to figure out where to plant it so it doesn't take over the garden.

 

[annageckos]

I think you mean calabaza squash. I have never eaten it, but hear it is similar to pumpkin. My bearded dragon loves it, that's all I can really tell you.

ETA: Ok, so there is calabash and calabaza squash. From what I could find calabaza is orange and more round, while calabash is green and more elongated. Both are edible and I think they both have vines. I would treat them like a pumpkin plant.

 

[digitS']

You are all on the right path on this.

It is a gourd that makes something like a squash fruit. It is very much like a zucchini for you cooks but, the plant grows & grows!

So, give it some room - as you would a pumpkin.

I have bought it from this company (click) and just call it "edible gourd."

Sherlock Holmes smoked a pipe with a meerschaum bowl attached to a calabash gourd. Or, the actors in the movies who played him did .

Steve

 

[nachoqtpie]

Hmmm... Well... we planted it in with the cucumbers..... so.... I hope it doesn't take everything over and kill my cukes!! It already has flowers on it, so will it be growing more now that it's been transplanted?

 

[digitS']

I can't remember how they behaved after flowering began. I had them a couple of times - you can really impress the neighbors with how large they grow . And yes, it is also possible that the vines will climb the fence and try to impress the neighbors, on their own.

It would seem "natural" to me to remove the flowers when transplanting them out. But, it may well be that they take a more restrained approach to garden life if they go out there with flowers on them already.

I think you'd better hope for that, qt. Cucumbers would have trouble in any head-to-head race towards the fence.

Steve

 

[nachoqtpie]

Well... I planted the cukes rather close to the tee pee... and the calabash on the outskirts of the bed.... so... if it DOES try to take over... it's got a ways to go before it gets to the cukes... LOL